Camino Family

Camino family.

You never walk alone.

There's one in every family...

Thurs Sept 5, 2019

Hornillos del Camino to Castrojeriz

20.1 km, 30,000 steps, walking day #15

I was quite concerned when I checked into my room yesterday as there was no air conditioning and no fan. My host assured me that it was cool, even cold at night and I would be comfortable. Look at this face. How could you not trust this face? 

Turns out he was correct. My room in the tiny town at 800m above sea level faced a farm field. I was pretty sure it was going to be quiet, so I had my window open a crack for some cool night air and I was perfectly comfortable. I slept like someone who had been walking for two weeks straight.

View from my window this morning

There was a continental breakfast this morning, consisting of perfectly toasted toast, served warm, small croissants expertly cut in half and still warm, freshly squeezed zumo de naranja (orange juice) and coffee. I spread the divine European butter on the toast and made a melecoton mermelada (peach jam) sandwich. Sigh. Then out into the......cold.

It was COLD this morning! Probably 10 degrees with a good wind. No problem. Perfect, actually. Jacket, hat, long pants, no worries. 

On the edge of town there was the cutest little culvert. I asked another pilgrim who happened to be passing by if he would please stand near it to give my photo some perspective and scale. After the photo we walked together for a bit. As we had the exact same walking speed and general outlook, we ended up walking together for the day. 

The cutest little culvert (and Dan)!

Dan was born in Bogota, Columbia. His family moved to New York when he was two years old. He has also lived in England and Paraguay and he presently lives in Ann Arbour, Michigan where he has just retired from working for Ford. He worked on ensuring that Ford cars destined for foreign markets met international standards. Dan's girlfriend lives in Tennessee where she teaches ballroom dancing and is pursuing a degree in psychology. Dan is a Catholic and is on a true pilgrimage. We talked about evolution from a religious and scientific perspective and how the two merge at certain points. We talked about dogs, and places we had travelled. We talked about bullfighting in Spain vs Central America and we talked about how to avoid bears when hiking in bear country.  Sometimes we just walked quietly and enjoyed the view. Today was the first day that I walked more than a kilometer or two with anyone, and I'm glad Dan was my walking companion and that I got to learn a bit about him and his very interesting life.

I met up with this great dude again today, too, and got to talking with him a bit more.

He is friendly, gregarious, open and funny. I call him my camino Vin Diesel.

Mark is from Puerto Rico. He is half Puerto Rican and half German. He says he now freelances as a photographer to make a little money, but "in a previous life" he worked for a very large company in the US, in the area of automobile compliance. He now lives in Florida where he visits with his mother every day for 45 minutes. She developed Alzheimer's disease. He looked after her for five years but could not continue, so he found a place for her that he is very happy with. He says that people say to him: "Why do you go to see her every day? She doesn't remember you." His answer to this wildly inappropriate question (that was personal editorial) is: "I go because I remember her." 

It was a very easy 20 kilometers today (who says that in their real life?) The air was cool, the sun was warm but not enough to be hot, the hard packed dirt path was so easy on the feet, the tailwind was much appreciated, and the views were fabulous. Especially the ruins of castillos (castles) and monasteries over 1,000 years old.

A strong tailwind on the plain

A beautiful view today

Castillo de Castrojeriz - first built by the Visigoths

Convento de Santa Clara - founded in the 14th century

There were a few places to stop and rest and visit along the way, and that we did. It was like walking onto a patio at a ski chalet, what with the walking poles leaning everywhere like ski poles, and people in jackets, headbands and sunglasses enjoying a hot drink and a snack.

I knew someone by name at almost every table. I greeted them all in their own language and asked them about their day. 

Who is this person in my shoes? 

For dinner, I walked into the only restaurant in town that was open. I asked if they could make me a salad. The man behind the bar turned to the small window into the kitchen and said "can you make a salad?" The reply was quick. "Yes". He turned to me and said "Yes". I asked "what's in it?" He said "oh, um, lettuce, tomato, a little tuna, corn, asparagus....whatever is in the kitchen". I said "how much?" He turned to the kitchen and said something in Spanish. The answer came from within the kitchen. He turned to me and said "4.50 Euros (about $7.00). I said "OK."

My veg for the day

A pictorial story from today:

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

        

            O Mors (Death)                            O Eternitas (Eternity)

Uh-Oh